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Oct 22 2015
Mallorca : 22nd October 2015 : C’an Curassa and the Boquer Valley
Mallorca : 22nd October 2015 : C’an Curassa and the Boquer Valley
Although the day started with rain, that eventually stopped and the clouds also started to dissipate so that some sun started to show for the first time in three days. There was, however, still a lot of wind and this meant our little bit of birding today was poor. We paid a tourist visit to Calle Bona over on the east coast in the morning and in the afternoon we stopped of at C’an Curassa where, apart from a single Moorhen there was nothing on the pools. In keeping with recent birding the birds sighted were either Robin, Stonechats or Black Redstart.
Oct 21 2015
Mallorca : 21st October 2015 : Punta de Capdepera, Depuradora de S’Illiot and S’Albufereta
Mallorca : 21st October 2015 : Punta de Capdepera, Depuradora de S’Illiot and S’Albufereta.
Today was mainly a drive around with birding as a bit of an add on. Since we had been to the southernmost point of the island yesterday, today we decided to go to the easternmost point. We drove to Capdepera making the mistake of driving through the picturesque but impossibly narrow streets of the old town of Arte.
A little bit traumatised by the maze we emerged eventually onto the by-pass and drove on to Capdepera and then to the coast. Like yesterday, there were gale force winds and heavy cloud.
Oct 20 2015
Mallorca : 20th October 2015 : Salobrar de Campos, Cap de Ses Salines and Portocolom
Mallorca : 20th October 2015 : Salobrar de Campos, Cap de Ses Salines and Portocolom
We hired a car for three days with the intention of visiting some of the birding sites in the south of the island. We had planned on driving straight down to Cap de Ses Salines on the south coast of the island but we reckoned that we might as well take a second look at the other pools at Salobrar de Campos which was on our way anyway. When we had been here before with Cristina on our day of guided birding, we had parked up next to the hotel and taken “Eddie ‘s Track” down to the pools there. This time we went past the turning and drove down the road that leads to the salt works. We turned left at the salt world and drove along the road that runs along the edge of the Salinas.
Oct 19 2015
Mallorca : 19th October 2015 : La Gola & Boquer Valley
Mallorca : 19th October 2015 : La Gola & Boquer Valley
We decided on another walk up the Boquer Valley taking in La Gola and the ring road to the Boquer roundabout. As we walked through La Gola we heard what we took for thr sound of running water but then decided it must be wind in the trees. As we found out when we looked back at La Gola from the main path it was a flock of at least a thousand Starlings all in a clump of trees. They were flushed by a dog walker but we hoped that they would return so we could get a closer view of them but when we walked back in their direction they had gone. Still a spectacular sight though.
Oct 18 2015
Mallorca : 18th October 2015 : La Gola
Mallorca : 18th October 2015 : La Gola
The 18th was a bit of a chill-out day and, as Anne went over to Pollenca town for the market, I stayed at home and caught up on my birding notes, doing some laundry and tracking down more, badly needed, mosquito spray. I just managed to fit in a brief visit to La Gola where I got the usual birds but had a nice slow walk around the reserve and still managed seventeen species.
Bird Sightings : La Gola
| Species | Count |
|---|---|
| Egyptian Goose | 1 |
| Mallard | 20 |
| Grey Heron | 1 |
| Little Egret | 1 |
| Common Moorhen | 2 |
| Common Coot | 2 |
| Black-headed Gull | 1 |
| Yellow-legged Gull | 1 |
| Common Wood Pigeon | 10 |
| Eurasian Collared Dove | 2 |
| Blackcap | 1 |
| Sardinian Warbler | 2 |
| European Robin | 1 |
| European Stonechat | 1 |
| European Greenfinch | 1 |
| European Goldfinch | 24 |
| House Sparrow | 20 |
Oct 17 2015
Mallorca : 17th October 2015 : S’Albefura Bird Ringing
Mallorca : 17th October 2015 : S’Albefura Bird Ringing
Surprising ourselves after a very long day the day before, we did get up in time to get to S’albufera for the bird ringing that Cristina had told us she was leading even though we missed the first quarter of an hour or so. As we arrived Cristina, our guide from the previous day, was explaining to the family groups the purpose of ringing, the scientific methods used for sexing and aging birds, the measuring and weighing of them etc. Not surprisingly the first two birds were Robins but even though they are very familiar birds to us, it is fascinating to see them in the hand. There was a lot more to come including a “life tick” “in the hand”.
Oct 16 2015
Mallorca : 16th October 2015 : Mortixt, Cuber and Salobrar de Campos
Mallorca : 16th October 2015 : Guided Birding Day at Mortixt, Cuber and Salobrar de Campos.
The 16th was our planned guided birding day so it was an early start. We were to be driven to various sites by Cristina Fiol from BalearsWildlife who turned out to be a great guide. We had to get up really early though to take full advantage of the day and a great day it turned out to be with lots of birds of prey, waders and woodland birds – we covered it all getting forty-five species in all with some special birds, including two “life-ticks”.
Oct 15 2015
Mallorca : 15th October 2015 : S’Albufera
Mallorca : 15th October 2015 : S’Albufera
The weather on the 14th had been pretty poor so we actually cancelled our birding plan for that day. Today we had another plan and that also went awry. We had planned a boat trip around Cap Formentor but the posters we had been getting our information from proved unreliable as the seasonal run had actually come to an end already.
A bit nonplussed by this we quickly thought that since we were close to the bus station we should just jump on the bus to Can Picafor and spend the day at S’Albufera. As we walked down the track from the entrance to the visitor centre we got a “life tick” in the shape of around ten Night Herons, all roosting in the bushes on the far bank of the canal. I had looked for these previously with no joy but here, suddenly, you couldn’t miss them. We were off to a good start and anticipated a great day walking around the huge site.
Oct 13 2015
Mallorca : 13th October 2015 : Alcudia and La Gola
Mallorca : 13th October 2015 : Alcudia and La Gola
The last time we were at the Roman remains in Alcudia we were on a walking tour so we could not really stop to look at the birds but I made a mental note to return there to look for birds because it seemed to be great habitat. This time round we did that and we were not disappointed. Again I didn’t have my scope but it was so hot and we were going to have a walk around the weekly market in Alcudia afterwards so carrying a scope wasn’t really practical. Bins had to do but we still did ok.
Oct 12 2015
Mallorca : 12th October 2015 : Boquer Valley
Mallorca : 12th October 2015 : Boquer Valley
This day was a lovely day for a walk up the Bocquer Valley but it was also a public holiday so there were a huge number of people walking the valley including hordes of infants out on some group nature trek – very noisy indeed. This combined with the usual loud hikers and kids going over for a swim at the bay at the end of the valley and the result was anything but peaceful. Fortunately it is such a fantastic place that it was really enjoyable anyway and despite the crowds we managed to see some nice birds including a “life tick”.